This invention relates to managing delivery of multimedia assets to a user, before a status of these assets in a multimedia delivery system changes. More particularly, this invention relates to systems and methods for notifying a user of a status change of an asset and/or locally recording the asset before the status of the asset changes or the asset becomes unavailable from a provider of the asset.
Content delivery networks (e.g., cable, satellite, Internet) have been developed that can deliver various multimedia assets from a remote source to a user's equipment for viewing or interaction. Multimedia assets include live broadcast programs, web casts, Pay-per-View (PPV) events, and/or VOD content. Sometimes, a user may select multimedia assets to be recorded locally on the user's equipment, for example, on a VCR or digital video recorder (DVR). A live broadcast is typically viewed and/or recorded at the scheduled time set by the broadcast station, whereas VOD content can be viewed and recorded at any user-specified time prior to the expiration time of the VOD content. PPV programs also have expiration dates and may be viewed and/or recorded before the expiration times/dates of the asset from the source server.
Recording a multimedia asset requires a tuner associated with the user equipment to be tuned to the channel in which the multimedia asset is available. Recording an additional multimedia asset at the same time on the same device could require an additional tuner. If the device does not have an additional tuner, the user may have to forgo recording the additional multimedia asset.
The status of multimedia assets may change from time to time. For example, broadcast programs may migrate to VOD or web casts, or PPV content may migrate to VOD. For example, HBO may remove an asset from their regular scheduled broadcast lineup, but continue to make the content available on VOD for an additional amount of time. Another status change may be a change in the expiration time/date of an asset. Expiration date/time for an asset is typically listed in an interactive multimedia guidance application, such as an interactive program guide (IPG). The user may not always be aware of a status change that may prevent the user from viewing and/or recording the asset. Present systems, however, lack an integrated approach to monitor the status of a multimedia asset and to timely notify users of a status change that may impact them.